Comment by hnspammers
1 day ago
> If you were alive when it originally came out you wouldn’t know that Ripley is the true lead of the film
?
1 day ago
> If you were alive when it originally came out you wouldn’t know that Ripley is the true lead of the film
?
I think they meant "wouldn't have known." The ensemble cast didn't really give contemporary viewers purchase on who would ultimately be the one to survive by the end of the film. Nowadays, many viewers go into the movie already knowing that Ripley will be the one to make it through, which makes it easy to see her as "the main character."
Ripley being the survivor was a rug pull on the audience's expectations. Tom Skerritt (Dallas) was a well-known actor at the time, and would have been assumed to have been the default lead.
In the marketing materials, Tom Skerritt got top billing as Dallas. He's also the captain of the ship.